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FAQ
FAQ Q: Do I have to fight to stay in Antioch? A: Nope you can be and are encouraged to be as active as you want to be! Only Command Staff are held to higher standards concerning activity within the chapter. You never get kicked out for being inactive, but we do keep track of this to help regulate rank testing and for weapon personalization. Q: How do I become Command Staff? A: You’re chosen based on your merits within the chapter. You have to actively work towards expanding and improving the chapter (as well as being a good role model for the newest generations). Command staff members are leaders within the chapter long before they are actually promoted. The lifeblood of Antioch depends on motivation and progressive activity. If you feel entitled to this position: there’s a good chance you aren’t a command member for a well-defined reason! Antioch constantly evolves to reward those who make it a better place. It will never reward members who demand it or are unworthy. Q: So why all black? A: Becoming a Verditian is highly focused on socialization. Unlike other chapters, Antioch attempts to dismember your ego and help you integrate into a singular entity. So to Antioch, you have no right to distinguish yourself from the others simply because ‘you want to’. Only those who have proven themselves through the most difficult processes (or have an immediate need to be recognizable) are allowed to break this law. Black is terrifying and helps to ensure the lines between individuals are very blurred. Weapons and shields are black for the same reason. You have to earn the right to have your weapon be special in this chapter. Letting you fudge or imitate rank rights makes the reward system we have in place truly meaningless. Be proud to look like your brothers and sisters! The unity forged through uniform keeps Antioch strong and recognizable. Q: Why can’t I have something that could unbutton fully in the front? I promise I’d keep it closed! A: We show command rank by having an open faced cloak, so imitating this on any level would cause confusion. Also, I don’t like to ‘police’ the chapter on incredibly trivial things such as “Hey Jimmy, button up that shirt okay buddy? You know the rules!” And I’m not going to hire someone to police it either. It’s incredibly lame and nobody wants to spend their free day enforcing it. People have ruined this small level of trust sadly and we are no longer allowing it. Sorry! Q: But why not let me wear a color like purple? There is no rank for purple. A: Again, you have to ask yourself: What gives me the right? Truly look at your peers and ask why you are better than they are. You have to earn the right to stand out. Violating black or imitating a rank seal is you telling your chapter: I do not want to be a part of this! Q: Why no leather chests? Back Shields? Flails? Coreless shields? Etc? Antioch has long established that we wish to emulate as much of a realistic fighting experience as we can. We ban things because they venture away from martial arts and start to resemble more of a ‘foam-tag’. Here we attempt to stray away from using equipment that would create tag-based fighting styles any more than Dagorhir laws already create. We wish to train to be warriors, not great Dagorhir players. (There is a massive difference) Back Shields – We feel this to be incredibly gamey. You’re essentially creating ‘magical unbreakable armor’ on your back. It’s only a practice because of how Dagorhir armor/shield laws work. Flails – Flails are also too gamey. Antioch leadership does not feel flails are ‘too strong’; they feel they are too unrealistic and promote low skill dependencies. Coreless Shields – Unrealistic to an extent that we can't justify them. Leather Chest - Leather chests are a combination of uniform, realism, and socialization. Antioch attempts to push its members into acquiring realistic armor. We do not wish to venture into the natural progression of leather chest armor, which becomes increasingly less realistic and gamey. We feel like you'd wear armor to survive, not just to get that game-advantage. Misc. – We frown on other equipment and practices that would never work in a ‘real’ setting. But they are not explicitly banned. A lot of questions come up about 'speed bats'. Truthfully, the equipment Antioch produces is far more technologically advanced than a speedbat. So using a speedbat wouldn't give you any real advantage over a kodachi. However the 'omni weapon' is considered to be representative of the ideological differences between Verdish and the rest of the foam fighting games. Q: But I saw someone in Antioch using (insert banned equipment here). Why can they? A: Those members have integrated from another fighting unit (Auxiliary members). We are not about to make someone forsake their home or entire experience related to foam fighting. We want them in our chapter and have given them the right to stay with something familiar. Plus it’s GOOD for you to fight them! You’ll see a lot of Antioch-banned equipment on the field at events. They are helping you get ready in the most effective way possible! Q: Someone Assessed to a higher rank. I don't understand why/how? A: Once a year we offer Rank Assessments to our members. The fighters are put through an intensive trial designed to push them to the absolute limit of their combat ability. While difficult to explain briefly, this elaboration does outline the process. Q: I like Antioch! But I’m part of *insert other group here*! Can I join Antioch? A: Yes! You can! We actually would love that! We have a program in place called the Auxiliary. The Auxiliary program is intended to allow fighters from other chapters or previous fighting experiences to join the chapter without having to completely forsake where they came from. The entire process is a negotiation. Members of the Auxiliary are not required to follow the ban on coreless shields, flails, or back-shields. (We hope they do, but we aren’t going to be jerks about it!) They are also allowed to use leather chest armor only if they already own it at the time of signing up. (leather armor must however be black!) The non-negotiable standards they must meet are the Antioch garb standards (including the black weapons and shields policy). Dual Citizenship Antioch does not require an Auxiliary member to forsake their membership to another chapter. Antioch believes that this can be a great source of public relations. There are some policies to keep in mind for dual citizenship: 1. Recruiting for another chapter at Antioch events will cause Antioch to terminate the membership. 2. Dual citizenship members are to adhere to the Verdish garb standards even when attending another chapter’s events. Refusing to do so will end in a membership termination. Additional Policies 1. Auxiliary members must enter a 6 week probation period where we will assess their fighting ability and socialization. At the end of the 6 weeks we will assign them a fighting rank (and possibly command staff rank) and allow them access to all Antioch programs. 2. When a fighter becomes an Auxiliary of Antioch, all future recruits they bring in (who are not from another chapter) will join normally as any other member would. 3. Auxiliary members can choose to drop Auxiliary status at any time and assimilate as a standard member. 3. Auxiliary members cannot use any Antioch-banned equipment for rank testing or tournaments. The auxiliary program is very negotiable, so please come to any Antioch leader and talk about what you’re hoping to gain from joining the chapter. We would rather have you with us than not have you. We’d do our best to make sure you felt comfortable with joining!